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Research Articles

Coping with altitude: altitude-driven floral visitor shifts on Hypericum revolutum (Hypericaceae) in Mount Cameroon grasslands

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  • 1Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, CZ-128 44 Prague, Czech Republic
    2Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská 1160/31, 370 05, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
    3University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
    4Bokwango, South-west Region, Cameroon

    *Corresponding author. E-mail: ucedagog@natur.cuni.cz/gucedagomez@prf.jcu.cz

Received date: 2024-02-19

  Accepted date: 2025-02-15

  Online published: 2025-03-01

Supported by

This research was supported by the Grant Agency of Charles University (Grantová Argentura Karlova Univerzita; GAUK: 383521) and the Czech Science Foundation (20-16499S).

Abstract

Elevational gradients provide a unique opportunity to explore the plasticity of plant-pollinator interactions, which is crucial for understanding ecological and evolutionary processes in plant pollination systems. Species-specific dispersal across elevation gradients of tropical mountains is constrained by the different tolerance of individual species to abiotic factors. Consequently, the composition of plant and pollinator communities, such as their interactions, changes continuously. For example, previous studies have shown a bee-to-fly transition as elevation increases, or that at high elevations, bird-pollinated plants may be more effectively pollinated than closely related bee-pollinated species, highlighting an altitude-driven bee-to-bird transition. We used Hypericum revolutum (Hypericaceae) as a model plant, to explore how the identity and activity of floral visitors change along an elevational gradient in the montane grasslands of Mount Cameroon. We observed flower visitors across four elevations during two seasons. Our study confirmed the predicted bee-to-fly transition with increasing elevation. Bird activity followed a hump-shaped pattern, peaking around 2800 meters above sea level. Male Cinnyris reichenowi individuals, the main bird floral visitor, exhibited higher activity than females throughout the entire elevational gradient and across both study periods. The observed patterns suggest that plants may face evolutionary pressures to adapt to these shifting pollinator communities, potentially driving local adaptations and diversification within populations.

Cite this article

Guillermo Uceda-Gómez, Lucas Lyonga Molua, Francis Teke Mani, Francis Luma Ewome, Štěpán Janeček . Coping with altitude: altitude-driven floral visitor shifts on Hypericum revolutum (Hypericaceae) in Mount Cameroon grasslands[J]. Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 18(2) : 1 -15 . DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf020

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